By the early 20th century the narrow carriageway over the bridge was, with the arrival of fast moving motor traffic, becoming even more of a danger to both traffic and pedestrians. On the 8th August 1911, the minutes of the parish council record the following "Request to county council to widen the bridge at the bottom of Grange Hill which on account of the increased motor traffic had become a source of danger to the public."
This is probably as close the bridge ever came to being demolished. Fortunately the County Council engineers came up with a scheme to widen the bridge by fitting steel 'I' beams and laying a concrete roadway on top, this created a wider carriageway and gave room for a footpath on the eastern side. The photo shows the bridge just after it was widened, the old cast-iron railings left by the side of the road, ready for disposal. A contemporary note on the back of the photo reads 'This is the new horse river bridge, as you see, it is made a lot wider.' And so it has remained to this day.
Photo Date:1912
Photo Ref: 09/08

Sources
'Coggeshall Abbey and Abbey Mill', Jane Greatorix (Manors Mills & Manuscripts Series) 1999
'Coggeshall Abbey and its Brickwork' by J S Gardner, 1955 (PDF of this available - look at the Home Page of this site)
'A History of Coggeshall' Geo Beaumont, Pub Edwin Potter, Coggeshall, 1890
British Listed Buildings: Click Here



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